


Sympathy for the Devil

by ILookDaftWithOneShoe



Category: Avengers (Comics), Iron Man (Comic), Journey into Mystery, Loki: Agent of Asgard, Marvel 616, Young Avengers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Gen, Introspection, Tony Stark-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 13:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2509103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ILookDaftWithOneShoe/pseuds/ILookDaftWithOneShoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony Stark hates magic. He also hates villains, especially mindlessly destructive ones. He’s not too fond of mythological gods, Thor aside. All these things bundled together mean just that Tony has absolutely no time nor patience for Loki. But the Loki Tony knew and fought is dead, and stumbling across the new Loki by chance in Paris turns out to be a happy accident.</p><p>But it's all they can do to keep their heads above water, and both of them have a Hel of a long way to go before they can reach the proverbial dry land. Perhaps they'll never get there at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sympathy for the Devil

**Author's Note:**

> It seems fitting to post this sort of fic the day after the anniversary of JiM!Loki's death and AoA!Loki's coalescence.
> 
> My partner in Bang-associated crime was the very helpful and cooperative [Enk](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Enk/pseuds/Enk). The art for this story can be found [ here ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2508881) but is also embedded in the story itself in the appropriate place.
> 
> Thank you very much to my dearest, most beloved [iloome](http://archiveofourown.org/users/iloome/pseuds/iloome) for being my beta at slightly short notice.
> 
> This fic contain spoilers for Journey Into Mystery, Young Avengers vol 2, Agent of Asgard, and Hickman's current Avengers and New Avengers runs.
> 
> Part of the Marvel Bang 2014.

If Tony hadn't been in Paris, who knew how different things would've been.

But he felt like leaving the Avengers Tower. The atmosphere was despairing and glum, even now that it had been a while since Loki's death. When Thor moped, storms happened, and New York was grim, never mind the mourning and the rebuilding down south.

Sure, Thor had gone back to Asgard - the place was a goddamn mess after the siege - but the bad weather continued. Tony had tried to help, tried cheering him up a little, but his efforts weren't enough (and the two of them weren't as close friends as they were once upon a time) and so he was happy enough to leave, weary of feeling impotent in the face of Thor's gloom.

Plus, Tony wanted a brief holiday anyway; his head needed clearing after...well, after Detroit Steel. So it was a perfect excuse to escape dark thoughts and even darker skies.

He liked Paris. He'd been there several times as a kid and it held nice memories for him.

Tony had this thing borne of years of being tricked by the Trickster himself: if he saw green eyes, black hair and pale skin, his brain just did a goddamn back-flip and his hands itched to summon the Iron Man and call the Avengers. No quarter given.

That instinct was actually completely justified. Some of the things Loki had done on Earth had been unspeakable. Some of the things Loki had done on Asgard were apparently even worse. The siege was still fresh in his mind.

But this wasn't a battlefield or a holding cell, this was a side street in Paris, and the person he'd spotted wasn't psychotic god with a love of ostentatious horns and the colour green, this was a kid.

A kid who looked _eerily_ like the paintings Tony had once seen of Thor and Loki as children.

After a double-take, Tony whirled around to have a better look at him.

He was about twelve or thirteen at the oldest and had a tricksterish grin on his face as he whirled cards, trying to perplex the tourists gathering around his tiny stall. Tony couldn't help but notice another kid sneaking around, lightly lifting wallets from pockets and purses from handbags.

Tony shoved his way to the front of the crowd. Sure, this colouration was just a _colouration,_ but it was so unique that Tony had to have a closer look.

"...Keep your eyes on the big blond fella. Everybody needs somebody to love, right? Surely you lovely ladies all know..." The boy drifted off as he stared at the Jack of Spades, seemingly caught up in a memory.

Two things made up Tony's mind. That was the first. The second was the fact that this kid was apparently talking English while the Parisians around him were nodding and answering in French.

Hey, he was an Avenger. He could almost certainly get away with grabbing the kid if it was for a good cause. The privilege of siding with the good guys. And he sure as hell wasn't about to let Loki get away.

Tony raised his hand, his Iron Man suit melting from his bones to form a gauntlet. "Loki. Stand down and surrender."

The kid's eyes widened and he turned and ran for it. "Go to hell," the kid added for good measure.

Oh, Tony had been expecting that. He immediately gave chase after the urchin, sprinting down the street after him despite the kid's best attempts to lose him in the crowds.

The kid was clearly experienced at this, hopping from an embankment onto the roofs of cars and cursing violently to himself. "This is bad! This is really bad!"

"You're damn right it is!" Tony said, nearly losing his balance on a well-waxed bonnet as he made a grab at the kid's yellow hood.

"Crazy," the kid panted, starting to get out of breath. "I'm being chased by a _lunatic._ "

"You're the one who destroyed Asgard! How's that for lunatic?" Tony shouted back. "Stop running! You won't escape!"

"The hell I won't!" the kid called back, taking a sudden turn and diving down a subway entrance. "You're crazy, man!"

Tony swerved to follow him, watching as the child flipped over the turnstile and said "Getchabacklater" in a rush as he hit the ground running.

Copying the move with less smoothness, Tony pursued the kid as he dashed down the concrete tunnel.

Just a little closer, and-

Tony tackled him, smashing him to the ground.

"I'll give your money back," the kid gasped desperately as Tony's weight pressed down on him. "All of it. Whatever my partner took, I'll match it back. In fact, I'll give you a chance to _double it_ if you just-"

"I don't want money, I'm Tony Stark. I want to know how you did this," Tony growled.

"Let - me - go-" The vagrant breathed. "I won't - I won't run, I promise, just-"

He was tiny, and Tony climbed off him, hanging tightly to his wrist just in case as the kid shuffled away. "How did you do this?" Tony repeated.

The child couldn't have looked more lost. "It - it's just a card trick, you know? There's nothing to it - if you want your money back, you can have it."

Either this was an excellent lie or this kid really didn't know. Tony took a deep breath. "What's your name?"

"Serrure," the kid said.

Oh, knowing French was useful. _Lock._ Subtle.

"Where do you come from, Serrure? Where are your parents?" Tony asked. Now that he knew the kid probably wasn't evil incarnate, he felt a little bad about scaring him and wanted to reassure him a little.

Serrure blinked a few times. "I - I don't remember anything. _Anything_. You know?" Tony nodded sympathetically, wishing the conversation would get right down to it. "I just... I've been making suckers chase cards for money my whole life. I remember - a season? A day? I can't tell."

All of a sudden the dam was broken and Serrure was crying on the concrete floor, looking at Tony desperately for answers. "Even my name is fake. I just thought it sounded good. My memories... I have no memories."

Tony felt his heart break. If this was Loki, if Loki had possessed this kid or created him and just _dumped_ him on the streets of Paris alone and penniless, well, that was just another thing on Loki's list of crimes that Tony was unwilling to forgive, and Serrure didn't deserve it. He tugged the kid into his arms, into a tight hug, in the hope that Serrure would go on with his story given the reassurance.

"Guh - god, I don't - I have dreams," Serrure choked out. Tony could feel the kid trembling a little. "I have such hideous dreams. The things I've done in my dreams would convict me to the gallows in any court in the land."

That chased away any doubt Tony had. Somehow, through the tiniest coincidence of walking down that street at that time in that city, he'd stumbled onto Loki's latest crazy step over the line.

Loki had convinced the Avengers that their archnemesis and favourite villain had died, crushed Thor's spirit, and been ripped apart by the Void, which was enough to annihilate anyone.

And somehow, impossibly, he'd worked his way out of it.

Tony didn't know whether to be impressed or spittingly angry. He was leaning towards the latter.

"It's okay. I can help," Tony soothed. A kid was still a kid.

"Why am I plagued by such sights?" Serrure asked quietly.

"It's a very long story, kid. Years and years," Tony said with a private smile. "And some day someone'll sit down and tell it to you. But for now," Tony pulled his away from his shoulder to look him in the eye. "I know you. Well, I knew you in the past, sort of. That's why I ran after you. And there're people who love you and who will be glad to see you."

"You just tried to kill me!" Serrure said.

"Nah, I was just apprehending you. Trust me, this is our usual thing. Besides, you got anyone else looking after you?" Tony asked.

"Not exactly."

"So come with me. I'm going back to New York - in America, you know - and your brother would really, really like to see you," Tony said winningly. When Serrure's eyes lit up, Tony continued. "Yeah, you have a brother. And you mean the absolute world to him."

Tony had never been able to figure out exactly why Thor loved his brother so much. It seemed to him that Loki had always been a bit of a shit.

-O.O-

Tony wouldn't trust Serrure if you paid him. The green-eyed boy was associated with Loki in some way - he didn't know how - and that meant that there was a very high possibility of plans within plans so Machiavellian and twisted that Tony would be flat on his back with no idea who was on whose side in ten minutes.

Actually, paying Serrure probably would've made him more trustworthy, because after he failed to steal Tony's wallet he lifted anything even vaguely valuable from the hotel room Tony had decided to share with him.

Because Tony was flying out tomorrow and unwilling to let Serrure out of his sight, he was indeed sharing a room with the little brat.

His original plan had been to fly with the Iron Man. That was how he'd arrived. But he couldn't carry Serrure across the Atlantic Ocean, so he was having a private jet shoot over during the night.

For now, trapped in a hotel room with the baby terror, he had to admit Serrure was cute. Right then, at around 9pm, Serrure was sitting on his single bed smothered in a blanket and borrowing Tony's laptop to watch _Game of Thrones._ It was just more evidence to Tony that Serrure seemed fascinated by the warrior culture, kings and queens and bitchy little princes.

The kid had also been offered anything from room service and was stuffing his mouth with an all-day breakfast.

A shower had improved Serrure's looks a lot and he was definitely like a tiny little Loki, handsome in his own way with his skin pale and his hair black and actually maintaining traces of Loki's smooth voice - albeit unbroken - now that Tony was listening.

Serrure didn't seem aware he was talking in Allspeak, which was just another mystery.

In all honesty, Serrure didn't trust Tony either. He'd be an idiot to - being tackled by a guy who'd aimed a glowy thing at him was not the best way to start a trusting relationship.

And of course, if someone offers you candy (or in this case a family and answers to all your questions) you don't climb in their white van. Or hotel room. Whatever.

The steak knife that had come with his breakfast-dinner was now stashed in his jacket. No taking chances. Worst came to worst, he could stab Tony and run.

But for now, he could admire Tyrion's antics.

-O.O-

Tony actually managed an affectionate smile as Serrure fell asleep while the TV show was still playing.

He'd gotten the impression the kid had been planning to stay up for as late as possible to keep an eye on him, but was too tired from running around and getting tackled.

As he took the laptop off Serrure and put his blanket over him, Tony thought that if this kid was secretly Loki, minus memories or magic or anything, then it might be a good thing. Thor could have his brother back, and they'd have one less supervillain to worry about. Everyone won, except maybe Loki himself.

-O.O-

_Sometimes in his dreams Loki saw his brother. This was one reason he'd believed Tony._

_There were only snatches, this time. Blotches of bad feeling mixed with good. He was there, shouting at Loki with hatred in his voice. He was also smiling at Loki. He was doing a lot of things._

_There was a blotch of black. Smears of it. Screaming. Buildings crumbling. More black._

_Something glowing. Glowing rocks._

_The black was coming for him. Everything went dark, his eyes burning and melting out of his skull._

_I'm sorry._

_Then nightmares. Everything Hel and Hell could dream up. Vivisected people screaming and demons crawling and so much blood on his hands-_

Serrure woke up terrified. The pain and horror wouldn't quit.

-O.O-

Serrure woke up before Tony, and immediately took the opportunity to go through his bags in a check for anything that could hurt him and explore the hotel room more fully.

Unfortunately Tony woke up while Serrure was investigating his toilet bag and nicking the blades from his disposable razor.

"Hey!" he said in alarm. "No blades!"

With a yelp of surprise, Serrure dropped the razor and whirled around.

"I wasn't doing anything," Serrure said breathlessly.

"Like hell you weren't. Hand'em over," Tony said, reaching out to take them off him.

Serrure just widened his eyes in a cute way.

"That face really doesn't work on me. Trust me, my friends are grown-ups and they try it all the time," Tony said. "Give me the razor."

Resigned, Serrure handed three of them over and slid the other two into his pocket with a neat sleight of hand trick.

Tony noticed. "Come on, there were five, you little..."

Even more resignedly, Serrure gave him the others.

"Good. Right. You can have anything you want for breakfast; our flight's supposed to be happening in an hour or two, so scrub up before then. I got one of my people to order you clothes last night."

"And then I'll see my brother?" Serrure asked hopefully.

"Yeah, you will. Trust me; he'll be delighted to see you."

-O.O-

Serrure, by all appearances, behaved himself all morning. Unknown to Tony, he had a knife in his nice new coat's pocket and had no issues about using it.

He found the private jet extremely exciting, taking all the snacks he could and stretching out on the soft seats. He enjoyed music, watched TV, and again, ate all the snacks.

Tony found him cute in a paternalistic way. Like, if he had his own child, he wouldn't have huge objections to them being like Serrure. Except hopefully they wouldn't be a kleptomaniac, and they wouldn't eat _everything._

"Let me guess," Tony said amusedly as Serrure started on a new episode. "You like Tyrion."

"He is excellent," Serrure said crisply.

"Yeah, I thought so. We're gonna be there in less than an hour. Are you ready to see your brother?"

All the building up had made Serrure quite excited. "Oh, yes. If he holds the key to who I am, then doubly so."

"Well, I'm not lying; he knows you better than you know yourself."

Serrure's hand unconsciously moved to his knife, but he passed off the gesture as straightening his coat. He was just a little scared, but the majority of his fear had faded as Tony didn't try anything fishy.

He had largely resolved to stay quiet and behave himself until he met the so-called brother. If things went belly-up then a daring escape was his only option.

When they arrived, Serrure tried to give the tablet back to Tony, but he was waved away.

"Keep it. You might as well; I've got them up the wazoo."

Serrure didn't know what that meant. It sounded unpleasant.

"Thank you," he said anyway, sliding that into his coat too, along with his weapon and a pack of cards he'd swiped from the hotel room. He felt like kleptomania was an excellent strategy.

He obediently strapped himself into his seat for the descent. They were in a private jet and were landing in La Guardia, which was to be followed by the drive to Tony's tower.

"Look out your window," Tony said. "It's the big building in the middle with the Norse tower thing on top. Hard to miss."

Once Serrure realised everything he could see from the window, he couldn't pull himself away from it. The city was so _vibrant._ He wondered how much money he could make in a day's scamming.

And he saw the Avengers' Tower. It was huge and impressive; the tower on the top reached for the sky, looking so out of place that he wondered how it had come to be there.

There was a swoop in his stomach to match the swoop of the plane as it landed. Planes were amazing. Serrure couldn't suppress his curiosity as to how it worked.

When they landed, they just walked right out of the airport and to their car, which was being driven by a person behind a screen. A taxi.

"Like I said," Tony said. "I wasn't expecting to come home via the airport."

Serrure didn't mind. He just hopped into the back seat and made himself comfortable.

They arrived at Stark Tower after some time of wrangling traffic - Tony muttered more than once that he wished he could use his Iron Man suit - and drove straight under the building into a parking complex nearly invisible from the road.

"Come on," Tony said as they disembarked. "Your brother should be upstairs."

Serrure anxiously followed him into the elevator, trying not to go for his knife. Tony told the ceiling which floor he wanted to go to, and surprisingly, that worked.

"Okay, brace yourself," Tony said as they ascended. "Voila, kid."

The doors slid open and Serrure edged his way out. It was a spacious room, an open-plan living area with an amazing view of the city, and it was occupied by four other people wearing bright clothing, who looked over at Tony and made to greet him. Until their eyes collectively slid downwards to see Serrure.

"I have to ask, Stark," one of them said, someone muscular and dressed in red, white and blue, "whose kid is that?"

"Aw, come on. Black hair? Green eyes? Propensity for mischief?" Tony said. "I think you know who he is."

"So he's my kid," another woman, this time wearing red and yellow, said cheerily. "You'd think I'd remember."

"What the hell, Jess?" a third person said. They were in purple.

"Aw, look at him. Come on, we're practically identical," Jess said, dropping to her knees and making a _come here_ gesture at Serrure.

"Don't touch me," Serrure said edgily.

"Is he Loki's kid?" someone else asked; they had a gruffer tone and were off to the side, dressed in bright yellow.

"Logan comes closest this round," Tony said. "I don't think he's Loki's son. I think he's Loki."

"Loki's dead," Logan replied rather bluntly.

"Yeah, but who stays dead around here? Is Thor around?" Tony asked.

Serrure was a brave enough kid. He'd come all the way to New York with a stranger armed only with a steak knife. But the room of adults was quite intimidating and he found himself sneaking behind Tony's legs just slightly.

"He's gone back to Asgard. Still plenty to clean up," red, white and blue said.

"Which reminds me; I need to finish checking over those blueprints," Tony muttered. "So, what? Should I stuff baby Lokes in a box and mail him to Broxton? Thor has a letterbox, right?"

"Just keep him here," Jess said airily. "Thor'll be back in a day or two. Meanwhile, I have a mini-me."

"What the hell am I supposed to do with him? Can't I just fly him down to Broxton?" Tony asked.

Everyone seemed to find that very amusing.

"You might've dodged a paternity suit, Shellhead, but you're landed with a kid anyway," purple guy said. "This is perfect. Really."

Jess raised her phone and took a picture. "Carol's gonna know about this, Clint. Don't worry."

"I think we're missing the part where we have Loki in custody," Logan said. "I don't think I ever fought the guy, but I've heard stories, and I don't wanna have him running around here."

Serrure managed to find his voice right about then. "Go. To. Hell. No one's putting me in a cell. I don't know anything about your Loki, but I'm not going to be punished for whatever he did to you."

The bravery of that statement seemed a little lessened when Serrure creeped a little further behind Tony.

"Okay, so no cells," Tony decided. "I can't look after him. I have work to do. Rebuilding Asgard, for a start. Can any of you-"

"Busy."

"Don't want to."

"Satan child."

"I'm not so good with kids. Instabilities, you know?"

Tony led Serrure elsewhere.

-O.O-

"Come on. Just for a day or two. You're supposed to love kids," Tony wheedled.

"Not this kid," Peter said.

"You used to eat hotdogs with this guy. You helped him find his daughter."

"What?" Serrure said. He was just kind of letting it all wash over him, but the news of a daughter did stand out.

"Not for all the hotdogs in the world."

"I'll pay you. I'll pay you in hotdogs."

"No deal."

The offer of money usually worked. A pity.

-O.O-

Tony even tried calling Thor. That was unsuccessful too, largely because Thor was almost certainly in the ruins of Asgard. He did get a message to someone in Broxton, but it was getting late and they weren't going up there until the next day.

Which left Tony with Serrure.

After various attempts to pass him off onto assorted people, Serrure's trust of Tony had faded slightly, but he was still his favourite out of all the crazies in the tower.

As such, Serrure undoubtedly felt safest trailing him around, and despite Tony showing him to a guest bedroom, he just kept creeping after him like a lost puppy.

"Okay!" Tony said after a while. "Okay, you're here to stay. You might as well come help me with New Asgard, seeing as you're going to be living there."

Serrure had to take his word for that. He didn't actually know what or where Asgard was.

Tony's job at that point largely entailed checking over blueprints that a Stark Resilient guy had sent over. That was not exciting for Serrure, who found himself wandering around the lab, picking up various things and trying to figure out what they did.

Serrure's little hand didn't really fit inside the chunky glove thing, but he tried it on anyway.

"Loki! Uh - Serrure! Don't touch that. Don't touch anything. You're just lucky that gauntlet wasn't connected to a power source. That thing's so old, I don't know why I've still got it lying around," the last of that was said in a mutter as Tony stalked forward and took it off Serrure. "Sit down and watch TV or something."

Serrure did sit down and retrieve his tablet from his coat, but he was a little too wound up to keep on watching TV and at that point the internet was largely unknown to him.

"Can you tell me about Loki?" Serrure asked. "Why does everyone hate him?"

Tony paused, and thought about exactly what Serrure would go through if he looked up Loki.

He'd probably find news reports, of course. Tales of Loki's misadventures, and of the massive damage he'd wreaked to various parts of Earth at various points in time. He'd find out exactly why the Avengers weren't happy to see him.

Tony didn't necessarily believe in coddling, but he had no desire to actively terrify the child.

"Nah, that's a story for another day, kid. Besides, you're nothing like him. No one here will be mad at you just because you look like him."

Serrure didn't look so sure, but he conceded to leave it alone for now.

"Have a seat," Tony said with a gesture. "You need to learn how to use the good stuff on your tablet. And that starts with the internet."

Serrure did. Then he shuffled around on the wheelie chair for a second. "This is cool."

"There are cooler things than wheelie chairs. Like the internet itself. Pay attention, tiny man."

Serrure's black fringe flopped over his eyes as he leaned over the desk to watch.

Tony showed him Google first. Half-expecting that an Asgardian child would be hopeless with anything technological, he was quite surprised to find Serrure mastering the basics and navigating his way around the wonderful world of technology with ease.

Then he taught him a few games, which Serrure mastered just as quickly. He was definitely clever. Tony had set a high score on Pandemic when he'd been procrastinating some time ago and Serrure seemed determined to beat it.

He now felt that he could get back to work. Everything seemed in order with the blueprints, though he had a few suggestions to make the waste disposal a little more efficient.

"What's that?" Serrure asked, looking up from his tablet and pointing to an elegant building; Tony's favourite.

"That, Serrure, is the royal palace. I suppose you'll live there when it's done."

Serrure felt uncomfortable at the thought. Everything he'd heard about who he was made him uncomfortable.

"So where is this? Compared to where we are?" Serrure asked.

"Look it up, kid. The internet is a beautiful place, you know. You can find nearly anything there," Tony said.

Serrure did. Then he looked up Asgard itself. Then he looked up Loki.

_-screaming Asgardians as he ordered them torn apart-_

After he made it through a few paragraphs, he quit the page and turned off the tablet. His blotchy memories were coming through clearer now that they had context.

_\- I'm sorry, brother-_

Serrure didn't want to think about that at all.

What was he sorry for? What had he done to his brother?

When Tony leaned over to get a look at what Serrure was doing, the kid angled the screen away from him, though not fast enough for Tony to miss the picture of Loki emblazoned on it.

"Serrure? You okay?" Tony asked. Serrure's distress must have shown on his face.

"What did I do?" Serrure mumbled. "I didn't ask to be him."

Tony then became resigned to the fact that he was going to get absolutely nothing done while he was looking after an adolescent boy with identity issues.

The worst bit was, Tony felt for him, he really did. It wasn't long ago that Tony had woken up with a chunk of missing memory, and when he'd gone to find out what he'd lost, he'd discovered that the worst possible thing had happened; the Civil War. Serrure's situation was even worse, because the kid had no memories aside from the awful things he was finding on Google.

Tony knew that he had to distract Serrure, get him off the internet where no doubt he could find more horrible things about Loki, and no doubt many other things that preteens shouldn't be looking up.

"I've got an idea. Why don't you go play video games with Clint? I'll come with you," Tony suggested.

This quenched Serrure's dual desire for something to distract himself with and something to learn. Clint was more than happy to teach Serrure how to play, mostly for the selfish purpose of wanting to beat him at them, and Tony could settle down and keep working.

Unfortunately for Clint Barton, Serrure was a shockingly quick learner and had him on the ropes in about twenty minutes.

That was how the afternoon was spent; with Tony actually doing his job, fleshing out a few ideas and generally relaxing after the whole Detroit Steel affair, and Clint bringing out new games regularly in an attempt to find one Serrure sucked at.

Strategy games were his forte. First person shooters were not.

Serrure was drooping with tiredness after dinner, after playing checkers against Tony and after reading a whole novel voraciously, so Tony sent him to bed.

He went to bed a lot later, and he didn't actually feel like Serrure was going to cut his throat in his sleep, which was nice.

-O.O-

The kid was still sound asleep when Tony woke up the next morning. Tony went in to wake him up to find that he was curled up under the duvet with only a tuft of his black hair protruding.

"Hey, Serrure, get up," Tony said.

Serrure's head poked out from under the covers. "Good morning."

"You want bacon?" Tony asked him. Serrure nodded his head eagerly. "Cool. Let's give you some bacon."

Aside from bacon and other fried breakfast things, Tony wasn't sure what to feed him. But as it turned out, bacon was more than sufficient. Serrure was wiping the grease off his plate with his finger.

"Thank you," he said. "Is my brother coming today?"

_I'm sorry, brother-_

Serrure wondered if his brother would be mad for whatever he'd done.

"I dunno. Maybe. If you're lucky," Tony said, looking out the window. The sky was an effortlessly clear blue.

Tony had no ideas for things that Serrure could do in the meanwhile, but that was okay, because he was doing something kid-friendly anyway - drinking coffee with Carol.

Upon the event of Carol Danvers joining the New Avengers but not the Avengers, Tony's contact with her had suddenly become restricted, something he regarded as a great tragedy. He'd been intending to get a coffee and go for a mild, superhero-drama-free walk in the park.

Serrure didn't _entirely_ count as superhero-drama. Tony hoped.

Simplifying things, Serrure agreed to that immediately. Once Tony had given and served him another load of bacon, he dressed in his only other set of clothes and accompanied Tony out.

"So this is New York," Tony said, his explanation perhaps lacking lustre. Serrure had been to a metropolis before; once you'd seen the underbelly of one, you'd kind of seen them all.

Tony didn't like the way Serrure was eyeing people. Especially tourists. It took him a second to catch onto it.

"No pickpocketing," Tony said. "No stealing. None of that."

Serrure's face didn't register disappointment, but Tony knew it was there.

"If I've got free time on the way back, we'll go to a big bookstore. Your brother said you love to read," Tony said.

That seemed to placate Serrure a little.

"Here we go," Tony said, gesturing Serrure towards a particular shop. "Best coffee in the city. Not better than Jarvis's, but it's getting up there."

That fell under the category of 'things Serrure filtered out'.

"And that must be the new Loki. He's surprisingly cute for someone who's made of pure evil," Carol said, looking iridescent as ever and waving Tony over to her table. She had no love for Loki. She remembered the Siege of Asgard vividly.

Serrure was getting used to that treatment. He sat down, didn't say a word, and pouted silently.

"Aw, don't be mean to him. He's not really Loki," Tony said. "He likes bacon and playing console games and watching Game of Thrones. Innocent as anything."

Carol looked at Serrure oddly, then seemed to accept it. "Your coffee's coming. Maximum caffeine, just how you like it."

Looking at Serrure sulking, Tony made his way over to the counter and got a milkshake to go for him. It was accepted delightedly.

"Let's walk," he smiled at Carol when his coffee arrived.

The conversation that followed then was rather inconsequential; it was more the art of having someone to talk to that gave the outing purpose.

Carol had plenty of things to tell him; for every serious issue the Avengers or New Avengers took on, there always seemed to be a dozen low-key weirdoes on the prowl. She'd recently had the pleasure of being led on a goose chase that had gotten interesting when her highly fashionable opponent had ripped his pants, and then had promptly surrendered, because he wanted to look good on live TV and he couldn't do that if his clothing was messed up.

Tony really liked talking to her. She made him laugh, but not in a jokey way; it was more her vivacious manner.

They weaved away from the coffee shop and through Central Park. Serrure tried to look serious, like there was no possibility of him having fun on such a sombre occasion, but he was looking around with guarded excitement at the world.

It was as the drinks were gone and they were preparing to head for their respective homes that there was a _boom!_ of thunder overhead, startling Serrure.

Actually, it made more of a _krak-a-boom!_ sound.

There was only one thing that made a sound like that, especially on a clear day.

"Thor!" Carol said brightly.

"That's your brother on his way," Tony told Serrure.

Unsurprisingly, Serrure seemed awed by such a blatant display of power.

"Sorry, Carol, I've got to deliver the prodigal son. Take care. Come on, Serrure," Tony said.

"Good luck," Carol laughed, waving goodbye.

Tony could admit that he excited to pass Serrure off onto Thor. It was hard looking after a kid, even a pretty nice but sticky-fingered one like Serrure.

Serrure finally swallowed his pride and asked "Is he going to be mad at me?"

"You kidding me?" Tony said with a surprisingly warm smile. "He loves you more than anything, trust me."

Slightly calmed, Serrure walked with him away towards Avengers' Tower.

It didn't take them long to get there. Once they did, Tony immediately took them up towards the living room where Thor would no doubt be.

"Hey, Thor!" Tony called. There were a few other Avengers there chatting to him, but they all turned to look at Tony straight away. "Have I got a surprise for you."

"What is this?" Thor asked. He looked a tad tired, but his usual radiant self.

"You remember your brother, yeah? Black hair, magic, kind of a shit?" Tony said dryly. He was really hoping that little Serrure wouldn't turn back into that guy. The kid was nice enough, but the adult had done things that gave him nightmares.

Thor just looked at him expectantly.

Serrure awkwardly made his way into the room, his eyes wide as he stared at Thor, trying to make himself seem smaller.

"Loki?" Thor said in disbelief. He dropped to his knee and opened his arms to hug him; Serrure wasn't having a bar of that, starting to shrink behind Tony again.

"The question is, Thor old buddy, is how the hell is he alive after we all saw him explode on that one memorable occasion," Tony said, his tone still light, but with an undertone of accusation. "Not to point fingers, but uncanny resurrections are kind of an Asgardian thing."

Thor's brief look away did tell Tony everything, and more than confirm Tony's suspicions.

"Again, not pointing fingers," Tony said. "But there's only one person in the universe who loves Loki enough to want him alive again after what he did."

"Aye, I did attempt to bring him back, though I assumed it did not work," Thor admitted. "But as a better self. He was my closest friend once upon a time, and I do wish I had done better by him. Come here, Loki. I want to help you."

Serrure's look of concerned scepticism was spiralling out of control into plain old horror.

"You'll be fine," Tony soothed. "He won't hurt you." And he gave Serrure a little nudge in Thor's direction.

After a moment, Serrure did make his way over to Thor, who smiled warmly at him and then raised Mjölnir.

"No, don't-" about three people started to shout.

Serrure, seemingly drawn to it, grasped Mjölnir’s handle with his much smaller hand as blue radiation and electricity radiated from Mjölnir worryingly.

Everyone was promptly blinded by a bright flash of light that seemed to fill the entire room and spill out of the windows.

Tony could only stare in surprise as Serrure - Loki, now - levitated just a little off the floor, now dressed in some very typically Asgardian clothes.

"Ah," Thor said, looking at him in confusion.

"My _word,"_ Loki said, looking at himself.

"That's not what usually happens..." Thor murmured to himself.

"Forget what usually happens," Loki said, a cheeky grin on his face. "When did you get so old?"

"Loki's back, everyone!" Tony said dryly.

"Was this all of what you sent for me for?" Thor asked. "There is still urgent business in Asgard. Great upheavals are occurring, and all Asgardians such as Loki as supposed to be present."

"Yeah, that was it," Tony admitted.

Thor picked Loki up and threw him over his shoulders to sit there like, well, like the little kid he was. Tony started to say something in concern, but Loki sent him a thumbs-up and a grin.

"Look after him, okay?" Tony called as Thor left. He probably didn't hear him. Bloody Asgardians.

And that was that.

There was about five minutes of quiet, in which the whole incident started to dissolve into the background of Tony's life. Then his phone rang.

"Unknown number," Tony said, looking at the screen critically. "That never means anything good."

He answered it anyway.

A short conversation later, and he was preparing to leave. For Broxton. For something completely unrelated. Ah, the world was fickle.

A scientist with a fringe theory that suggested that all Hell - or Hel, Tony supposed, his mental voice somehow dry - was about to break loose because Asgard was now on Earth. And Tony was the only person who would listen. He supposed that was probably his business. He had to take a look around Asgard anyway, for the rebuilding, and doing it in person was probably better than doing it remotely.

Still. Inconvenient.

-O.O-

Tony moved quickly and made it to Dr Solvang in good time, picking him up as he wandered through the desert in a slightly shabby suit and toting a briefcase.

What happened afterwards was largely irrelevant in many terms. Solvang told him about the gap in space where Asgard was. Tony took this in and added to the pile of dramas in his life.

Solvang, who was quite agitated, approached Jane Foster about it. At first, she reacted negatively and blasted him with the ol' knee-in-the-crotch, but she was receptive to the idea after that. This wasn't actually a pointless exercise, because Thor would listen to Jane even if he was busy. Between Jane and Tony himself, they could definitely get through to the god.

After getting their stories straight in the Broxton diner, they resolved to head out to Asgard. Tony knew Thor well, even if they hadn't gotten along so well since ... well, since the Civil War, which had been a tad taxing on everyone, to be mild. Perhaps Tony didn't regret siding with the cause, but from what he'd heard, things had gotten more messed-up than anyone wanted or could have predicted.

Besides, Tony had just given him his brother back. So long as Loki wasn't being horrible, that was a good way to get to Thor's heart.

However, on the way to Asgard, they were intercepted by a car. Solvang's car, as it worked out (he jumped in front of it and shouted "That's my car!", which was a dead giveaway) but Tony was more interested in the driver.

"Loki?! What're you doing out here?" Tony exclaimed. Then he narrowed his eyes. "And when did you learn how to drive?"

"I - uh-" Loki stammered, trying to crawl out of the car. "I didn't. I think. Maybe."

"What happened, kid?" Tony asked.

"Odin," Loki said shortly. "Was very angry at me."

"It took five minutes for Odin to re-traumatise you?" Tony said. He'd heard from Thor that his father was kind of a dick. "That's got to be a record."

Loki unashamedly grabbed onto Tony's leg for support. "Help me," he said.

"Thor's okay with you, though, right?" Tony asked. When Loki nodded, Tony continued "Just stick with your brother, you'll be fine."

Very noticeably, Loki slid down a mask of resolve and the fear on his face vanished as he nodded sternly.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear; Thor came soaring out of the sky half a minute later to pick his errant brother up.

"Here you go, Thor," Tony said, nudging Loki towards him. "Protect him from Odin, yeah? No need for him to go back to, you know."

"Sorry about the car," Loki said to Solvang a little awkwardly.

"Anyway, Thor, you need to listen to this man," Tony said, thumbing Solvang, Loki temporarily forgotten as he got down to business.

The conversation didn't go well. Apparently Thor had too much on his plate to worry about Solvang's theories too. As much as he appreciated Tony trying to help, it just wasn't possible for him to work on this too.

In any case, that was how Tony said goodbye to Loki that time. With a smile and a wave. Despite himself, the kid seemed nice, and given their history, Tony was really hoping he didn't grow up to be the utter shit his past self had been.

-O.O-

After that, Tony didn't see him again until he went to Asgard to check with the folks in charge that his design was acceptable. Naturally, it was perfect.

The speed at which his design was agreed upon - most Asgardians didn't seem to be up on the scientific knowledge, and so they'd just smiled and nodded for most of his explanation - left Tony with an appointment-free day. He had plenty to do at home - there was always drama - but before he left, he wanted to see Loki. Just to check up on him, just to see that he hadn't spontaneously become evil or something.

After a lot of asking around, where most Asgardians looked mildly disgusted at the thought of Loki, Tony managed to ascertain where he was and ascended a tall tower. He announced his presence with a short knock on the door and waited.

Loki opened it after a moment, looking downright suspicious of his guest until he realised it was Tony.

"Oh, hello," Loki said, smiling a little wanly. "I did hear through the vine of grapes that you would be here today."

"Yeah, uh-" Now that he was there, Tony was at a loss for what to do. "Wanna come to town?"

Loki looked at him calculatedly; it was sad for Tony to see that he'd already lost some of his carefree nature since living in Asgard. Then the kid smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

After a short break for Loki to put on shoes, Tony steered them in to town.

"I felt, if I saw you again, that I should show you this," Loki said happily, wiggling something at Tony.

A StarkPhone. That was cute. Tony smiled and started talking to him about the new version he was going to release soon. To his surprise, little Loki followed along and actually understood him.

They never talked about anything significant; they just went into town and Loki suggestively steered Tony to a particular joint that advertised high quality milkshakes.

Loki talked cheerfully as he made his way through two milkshakes about things he'd read and seen other people doing. Lots happened in Asgard that was interesting, though generally speaking, Tony didn't want much to do with it.

He stayed away from magic. Too much drama, really.

But Loki's enthusiasm made him a good storyteller. Plus his more than slight tendency to exaggerate.

During a quiet moment, Tony asked him "Stories aside, how are _you_? Have you made friends in Asgard?"

Loki bowed his head and averted his eyes just slightly. "Not particularly. My revival has not been well-received."

"Odin?"

"Oh, I keep away from him. But he is not the only one who remembers the crimes of my past self. I'm beginning to owe my life to an increasing number of Thor's friends, which is just sickening, really," Loki said. The short moment of vulnerability he'd displayed a moment earlier had been crushed behind what was a disturbingly well-developed facade for a child.

Tony could empathise, but he wasn't entirely sure how he could help; Loki was of Asgard and things really did work differently there. Otherwise people wouldn't be trying to kill a little kid. But if things got any worse, Tony wouldn't be able to watch it a moment longer; he'd just have to take Loki away.

The main thing he offered was the second milkshake of the two and the promise that if Loki needed his help, Tony would be there.

Loki smiled and thanked him, then changed the subject to another anecdote about a prank he played on someone who'd tried to hurt him.

Tony could only suppose it was easier to lie when you were talking about something that didn't affect you so deeply. He knew the feeling, and granted Loki the reprieve.

The stress-free afternoon helped Tony, and after he escorted Loki back to Asgard, he slept a little better.

This was good, because he wasn't aware of just how bad things were going to get.

-O.O-

The Serpent War was hell on Earth.

Screaming terror across the world, those statues in Paris that Tony felt like he saw every time he closed his eyes, and ... and how they'd won. What Tony had done. It wasn't the first time Tony had been reminded of his own capacity for doing exactly what was necessary at whatever cost.

The whole thing just turned into one long blur of desperation, anger, and revulsion. The alcohol didn't help at all.

That poisonous self-hatred Tony spent so much time choking down was threatening to drown him again.

Then the sudden punch of the knowledge of Bucky's and Thor's deaths. There was only so much one could get pushed to that emotional brink.

It finally occurred to Tony once they were on their way home: "What about Loki?"

"What about him?" Clint asked, a little acidly.

"Who's gonna look after him without Thor here?"

"Ya know, Tony, I don't really care," Clint shrugged. "I know the new him's pretty cute, but I can still remember him and his scaley yellow ass cackling and turning streets to ice cream."

"Don't worry about Loki, Tony. He can look after himself; he may be a kid, but-" Peter said.

"But it's Loki?" Tony said defensively.

"Well, yeah," Peter said. "Like Clint said, it's hard to forget the street of ice cream."

"He's a good kid. Our Loki, the crazy god who got the Avengers together, is long gone. Now there's just this little kid without a friend in the world outside of his own big brother."

Steve said. "He's Asgardian; they take care of their own. Thor's friends won't let Loki get hurt."

"I just have to know," Tony said. "I'm flying back to Broxton. I'll be back as soon as possible."

And with that, he left. He just wanted to know that the kid was okay, never mind the dozens of injured companions he had yet to check on and the worldwide mourning of the dead.

Something about the kid. Little, innocent. In a way.

-O.O-

Tony found Loki sitting in a cold and drafty part of Asgard, alone.

If the kid was anyone else, they'd have been crying. Loki's facial expression made it clear: the controlled, careful restraint, betrayed by the downturn of his lips and the slump of his shoulders.

No surprises there. No matter the issues the past Loki had had with Thor, the kid loved his brother.

"Hello," Loki said, brightly, evenly as Tony approached. "You survived. Many have mentioned your valour today."

 _It sure as hell didn't feel like valour,_ Tony thought bitterly. But outwardly he said "Yeah, that's what superheroes do; we look brave. You're alright?"

"Oh, just fine. I wasn't expected to fight," Loki said.

That choice of words. Loki wasn't _expected_ to fight. That didn't mean he hadn't done something.

Tony sat down next to him. "Is someone going to look after you without Thor here?"

"Oh, yes," Loki said. "I understand Thor's companions feel some kind of obligation. Who knows, their righteousness may rub off on me."

"We can only hope, kid."

Loki thought for half a minute before saying "If you had to hurt someone you cared about, but in doing that you were aiding hundreds of others, would you?", his voice level, his face expressionless.

"Yes," Tony admitted without hesitation. "I have, too. I'm not proud of it, but I have."

Tony didn't bother to ask where that question had come from. Given the circumstances, it was pretty obvious.

He just hoped Loki felt it had been worth it.

-O.O-

The kid had excused himself after a short while of sitting with Tony. Apparently, owing to Thor's death, there was to be a banquet, and Loki had to go. Tony was invited, of course, but he just wasn't in the mood for an Asgardian-style sendoff.

He went home and tipped a bottle of alcohol down the sink in memory of Thor.

-O.O-

After that, Tony dropped into Asgard sporadically. He was compelled to, just to ask if the kid was okay.

He felt like he wanted to see Loki, wanted to protect him, but when they met up, he never had anything to say or do.

Once he realised how difficult it was to scratch that itch, he put it down to his life recently. So unstable. Loki was always there, always cheery enough and willing to talk.

Which he wasn't, really. As time went on, Loki seemed more and more preoccupied by other things. On several occasions Loki wasn't in Asgard and no one knew where he'd gone. And when he was, he didn't seem to have too much time to spend with Tony.

Tony didn't ask, and Loki didn't tell. After everything, Tony didn't feel like he could add that weight to himself, so no matter how concerned he got, he just went with Thor's past assurances that Loki was well enough and that he was simply full of mischief. If Loki opened up, no doubt Tony would shoulder the kid's pain and try to help even if he couldn't, but for now, he was content to remain a little ignorant. He knew it wasn't like himself, but he couldn't help it.

He wanted Loki to be a cute, innocent, and happy kid that he could talk to, and he was willing to turn a blind eye to Loki's growing dejection to have it.

But Loki never asked about Tony either, and seemed to treat Tony in much the same way. Maybe their situations weren't greatly different.

-O.O-

Things changed. Thor came back to life in the way Asgardians do. The Mandarin did his thing, and Tony tried to keep his head above water in the way he'd been trying to since 2007. Maybe before that. He found it hard to remember last time he felt truly safe, loved, and able to relax. Perhaps he just never had.

The Phoenix was coming.

-O.O-

Tony's last visit to Loki was his last for a reason, and it was because Loki had asked him to not come back.

"There is unrest in Asgard, and I would not have your harm on my conscience," Loki told him, pinched and tired. "It will pass, without even the teeniest of doubts, but for now, perhaps you would be better sticking to your Current York."

"New York."

"It's not really new anymore."

"Can I ask why I have to stay away?" Tony asked. They were sitting in Loki's room in Asgardia, still dungeon-like despite Tony's renovation of the city.

He was taking a moment for himself, and as he often did at that time - for a number of reasons, up to and including the fact that no one looked for him in Asgardia when they wanted to annoy him with more crises - he was visiting Loki. The kid looked like he hadn't slept since last time Tony had seen him.

"Simple things. Dreamstuff and evil men with pointy horns, myself aside. But not a suitable place for humans, I think," Loki told him.

"You're okay, though?"

 _"I'm_ a god," Loki said with slightly deflated bravado. "This is what we do."

"Well, I like coming to Asgardia. So tell me when it's alright again," Tony told Loki with his attempt at a reassuring smile.

He was too tired for this.

"I will," Loki said. "I have to go, now. I have a friend to meet."

-O.O-

Everything was quiet from then on. Thor didn't turn up for some time; apparently things in Asgardia were once again heating up.

Tony didn't bother to intervene. Since the fate of the universe regularly rested in Thor's hands, what was one more crisis?

Besides, things were changing at home. Yes, the Mandarin was dead. Yes, Zeke Stane had fucked off, and the Hammer mother-daughter duo were out of his hair for the moment. But Tony had had enough, and with the whole Phoenix drama, Earth wasn't that fun anymore.

He was going to space. Presumably, he'd be happy there. In any case, it was better than trying to make devil's decisions about the incursions and whether or not billions of people should die at his hand.

And while he wanted to say goodbye to his little buddy - though they hadn't spoken in months - Loki still hadn't given the all-clear. Thor wasn't about, either, or Tony could ask him.

So he prepared his spacefaring Iron Man suit alone. Which was fine. He just couldn't help but wonder about the young god.

After a few hours of progress, he was interrupted by his sensors detecting magic in the lab. Considering none of the many, many magic wielders he knew were supposed to be arriving at any point during the day, this caught his attention.

He picked up a wrench and said "Who's there?"

The wrench was for show. He had lasers.

A shuddery green smear caught his attention. Loki's outline flickered in and out, smearing and blurring as it struggled to hold form. An astral projection. Loki had told him that his magic wasn't strong enough to do much, so what he was seeing was a colossal effort.

Loki's projection saw Tony, ran over to him glitchily, then tried to hug him. Passing through him, it instead just reached out a hand to Tony, who confusedly reached out and touched it back. His hand passed through it.

The projection's face was controlled and careful, but Tony knew something was very, very wrong. Loki's magic was so vastly limited that an effort like that was only for emergencies.

Loki's shade flickered and vanished permanently.

-O.O-

Tony put his plans on hold for just a day or two to check on Loki.

But he couldn't find him. Anywhere. At all. No one in Asgardia could point him in the right direction; even Thor himself didn't know, though the god seemed largely unconcerned, saying that while Loki had been temperamental as of late, those moods always passed.

After his searches failed, he couldn't delay it any longer. He left.

-O.O-

It was so much later that Tony heard from Loki again.

He'd been minding his own business. Back home, sparring with Steve. It was a good opportunity to spend some time with his closest friend before everything went wrong. He knew everything was going to.

The Illuminati were good, but they couldn't stay secret forever.

His dark thoughts were easily banished by the event that was alarms going off. He headed upstairs to check it out.

Loki was there. Sort of. The kid Tony had seen was gone; instead he was in his late teens or early twenties, around Tony's height, and somewhat twinkish. He was wearing an altered version of his old horns on some kind of circlet or tiara, and he was dressed in clothing that could only be described as 'swashbuckling'.

And he wasn't Tony's Loki. That was obvious in a hundred and one subtle ways.

He was so glad he was wearing the Iron Man suit, because it masked his emotions neatly.

The exchange afterwards was unimportant. Tony was too greatly focused on everything about Loki that he kind of missed the action.

Until Loki so kindly reminded Thor of _that time Tony had just lightly borrowed his DNA to make a clone or two_ and Thor was pissed off. He had been easily angered as of late.

And then Bruce Hulked out. That was hard to miss.

Once he got himself sorted out, his alarms told him Loki was screwing with the Avengers database upstairs. He peeled away as quickly as he could and got there before anyone else.

"Loki!" he said from the doorway. "What the hell is all this?"

Loki grinned winningly as he pressed a few more buttons and then, his job done, leaned lightly against the console. "Loki's greatest trick. Sending the Avengers sprawling with his raw loveliness."

"Cryptic statements, not necessary. I mean why didn't you ever contact me again?" Tony said.

Loki's brow furrowed for a split second before he covered the facial expression with his smooth smile. It looked like a theatre mask.

"It is a mystery," Loki said in a spooky tone. "And here's the man of the hour, the Odinson. We may just have to postpone this conversation, Stark."

His attention immediately left Tony to focus on the rest of the Avengers, who'd just turned up.

"I don't suppose we could settle this over a nice, civilised plate of breakfast meats?" Loki said brightly.

Then drama. Loki bantered, Loki fought and then stabbed Thor, Loki got arrested.

Tony tried to figure out what the hell had happened, and feared the worst. That somehow his kid was gone, and the old Loki was back. The kid didn't talk like that. And definitely didn't act like that.

Unless it had been some kind of elaborate trick. But that wasn't what Tony had read from him.

Not hearing from the kid was one thing. Hearing from a distorted - and older - version of Loki was completely another.

He needed to talk to him.

Unfortunately, when he got there, Loki had already escaped.

-O.O-

This time, they were on a little hill overlooking a venue where some kind of party was going on.

"How did you find me?" the new Loki asked, a total lack of surprise in his voice.

"You post a lot of pictures on the internet. I can trace your phone," Tony told him.

"Hm. I assumed that was possible, but I failed to see who would bother. Now I know," Loki said, his flippant tone lacking a certain lustre.

Tony could get a closer look at him now; he was clearly Loki, older that the kid but younger than that asshole who kept trying to ruin Thor's life.

But despite his perky presentation, Loki looked old. Tony had seen Loki a lot, both the old adult Loki who'd been a selfish terrorising ass, and his own kid Loki, but this was the first time he'd seen Loki look his millennia of years.

Had Tony known that very recently Loki had been on the ground, begging Miss America Chavez to kill him, then odds were he would have seen the situation differently. But he didn't know that.

"You're him, aren't you?" Tony asked. "The old Loki. The one that destroyed Asgard twice and all that. You're back."

It was the only conclusion he'd managed to come to.

"Did you miss me?" Loki said. His grin was beginning to consolidate into something snakelike.

"Not even a little bit. What did you do to him?"

"Mm?"

"The kid you. Serrure. Where is he?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm still every bit as Loki as I was before," Loki said winningly.

"You're not."

"I am to Loki what bald eagles and rednecks are to America," Loki said. "I am he, as you are he, as you are me. Hanging out with Marvel Boy gives you an odd taste in music."

"What. Happened. You're not him," Tony snarled. He hated that dancing around the point. When other people did it.

"It's very tiring listening to you repeat yourself."

"Just tell me what you did to him! What the hell did you do to my kid?!" Tony shouted. He felt so ludicrously impotent, like he wanted to hit Loki in hope that it would solve all his problems, but violence never really was the answer.

Despite Tony's angry break, Loki still looked unaffected and tired. Though with that last sentence a little of his former mischief made it onto his face and he smiled crookedly. "A rather telling Freudian slip, that. He wasn't _your_ son, Tony Stark. He belonged to Asgard."

"He was a good kid, and you - I don't know what you did to him, but he's gone," Tony said. "And I couldn't save him."

That last sentence was accompanied by Tony sitting down, hard, and trying not to think of every other time he'd managed to fail someone he cared about. Steve's face was the most prominent, but there were others. So many others.

And the instance of the kid was even worse, because now that Tony thought about it, he hadn't even tried.

By the time he'd looked up again, Loki had vanished.

-O.O-

Once again, a lot of time passed before Tony saw Loki again.

Too busy. The universe was in danger. As always.

He didn't quite know what had taken him there. It was like the old cliché, where he was up and walking and only realised where he wanted to go when he got there.

On autopilot he skimmed surveillance using technology's helping hand, and lo and behold, Loki lived in a nice apartment right in New York. He ended up there somehow, maybe by taxi or car or Iron Man, or maybe he just walked. He didn't know.

Steve knew, and Steve hated him now. Of course he'd known it was coming, but it still hurt. He'd built weapons to kill another planet full of people he didn't know and Avengers, of a sort, who only wanted to do their job. He'd created weapons that made weapons of mass destruction look like firecrackers. His head was in a fog of how badly he'd messed up, mixed with how certain he was that his way had still been the only way forward, and with his usual undercurrent of self-loathing rising up in him and threatening to overwhelm him entirely.

For some reason his slightly dazed state made him extra-polite and he knocked lightly on the door.

Loki opened it after half a minute, dressed in a turtleneck sweater and black skinny jeans. So odd to look so human.

"Stark? I can only assume the world is ending, if you're here," Loki said, opening the door with a swoop of his arm to allow Tony in. Tony hated how right he was.

He walked in and settled himself on the couch without asking.

"Do you want a drink, mysteriously appearing Avenger?" Loki asked.

"Anything, just no booze," Tony said.

"I thought you favoured things a little more alcoholic. Have I been misinformed?" Loki said, heading to the kitchen for a rummage around.

"I'm not going to drink," Tony said firmly, that one statement more definite than anything else. "Never again. Not after last time."

"Well, I can't blame you. People do things they would rather not have while drunk," Loki said. Tony heard the _tssht!_ of a carbonated drink opening. "I could tell you many stories about my brother, for instance."

A moment later, Loki came back and handed Tony a glass of apple juice. In a short tumbler, which made it look like scotch. But a sniff told him that it wasn't.

Loki sat down and looked at him thoughtfully. "What's our connection, Anthony Stark?"

"What do you mean?"

"You never paid this much attention to me before. Why now? What changed in my absence?" Loki asked. Tony must've looked surprised, because he added. "Oh, the cat has well escaped the bag now; you know that I'm different. But good luck convincing Thor or anyone else."

"You'll just make the puppy-dog eyes," Tony guessed.

Loki blinked lightly and innocently.

"I helped you. When you were a kid. But not enough, or he wouldn't be dead now," Tony said. "How could you do that? How could you just kill him?"

"More easily than you'd think," Loki said. "All gods cling to life. It's what we do."

"Yeah, I do that sometimes," Tony said, sipping his drink. "Care about being alive."

"You Avengers are supposed to be fun. You're one of the most depressing happy people I've ever met," Loki said. "And I've been hanging with the Young Avengers. Lighten up, Stark, true Ragnarok isn't on us yet."

"It kind of is," Tony said, his juice catching in his throat. "And it's all my fault."

"Now you've piqued my curiosity," Loki said, his voice smoothly even without a hint of surprise.

Tony had wanted to talk to someone for a long time, but the fact was there was no one he could tell about the fact that he'd been committing genocide. Oh, and building the weapons to do so. And betraying his best friend. For some reason the idea of stabbing Captain America in the back really polarised people.

He doubted that Loki was a good person to tell about it either. But Loki had no moral code and no one ever believed someone who used to proudly call himself the God of Lies, so Loki probably wasn't a bad person to tell.

So Tony told him about the incursions and everything else. About Steve. Steve came up a lot.

Loki just listened patiently, considering his words for a while.

"I would have done the same, if it's any consolation," Loki said lightly. "Only faster, and with greater loss of life. That is, as they say, how I roll."

"How could you possibly have _greater loss of life_ that what's already happened?"

Loki's smile turned crooked. "Try me."

"Fair point," Tony conceded.

"All my points are fair," Loki said.

"You turned a whole street to ice cream once."

"And no one has ever let me forget it."

Tony wanted to banter or laugh, but he wasn't exactly in the mood, so he just sank into Loki's couch and continued to nurse his juice.

"Stay here as long as you like," Loki said. "I'm making chicken madras later, so if you're interested, I'm even providing dinner."

"Luxury," Tony mused, full of thought.

-O.O-

He woke up hours later. He hadn't slept that long continuously in months, so he was surprised; usually his attempts to sleep were cut off by anxiety or by a feverish drive to get _something_ done or just by the same old bad dreams.

Sleeping like that felt like he'd given up. But he'd had that feeling before and pushed through.

Something smelled like curry and his stomach growled. Damn, he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt properly hungry either. Maybe at Thor's barbeque back at the New Year. Maybe not for years.

"It's on the bench," Loki said shortly. He was just sitting on the couch, eating curry one-handed as he played some console game.

The man could take anything in his stride, Tony could give him that.

Tony went and fetched it. It smelled amazing.

"I was going to keep it warm, but then I remembered _some_ technophile in this room doesn't _like_ magic," Loki said theatrically.

"You have an oven."

"Ovens are for the weak. Also, they dry out the food," Loki said. "Unacceptable."

Tony paused for a minute to eat some of the curry. "Can't believe I'm eating dinner with you."

"Too romantic?" Loki said dryly. "I can put out some of the candles, dearest."

Few things appealed to Tony less than a date with Loki, for many, many reasons, starting with the fact he didn't really look legal and ending with the fact he was a goddamn supervillain. He'd learned his lesson with Madame Masque. Unfortunately, given that those few things had all happened in the last few months, maybe this was the lesser of many evils.

"It's more the murderous villain thing."

"This tiger has changed his stripes," Loki said, pausing the game to focus more on his dinner. "Because that's what they're known for, of course."

Tony actually did smile at that. And he felt somewhat rested. And he'd eaten properly.

There was no way he could stay there any longer, though. He was trying to get into everyone's good books again - why, it was hard to tell sometimes - and that included being around for people to talk to. Or throw rotten fruit at, maybe.

But he had to go and face the music. He was always facing someone's music.

"Come back, if you like. It's so rare for me to spend time with someone who knows me and doesn't seem to hate me," Loki said when Tony left. For the first time, Tony detected some hurt in Loki's tone, but that wasn't a problem for now.

-O.O-

T'Challa had hit Tony once. Tony liked and respected T'Challa, both as a scientist and a hero. But Tony had been in one of his dark moods, and T'Challa had hit him.

Tony wasn't entirely sure why that had hurt so much. He'd probably deserved it.

One part of him felt like he deserved everything he'd been given, in terms of life repeatedly kicking him in the nuts, and this was the more defeatist part of him. The other part stubbornly whined that _it isn't fair_ and fought against said nut-kicking at every turn.

Recently Tony had been letting the former part take control. But the latter part had woken up and smelled the curry at around the time the rest of him had, and he had a scrap more strength to keep being his stubbornly determined self.

He could start working. His fingers worked a little faster. No more bombs. Solve it better. Beat Namor's Cabal. Fix everything as best he could. It was what he did; he made the future a better place.

_"How could you possibly have greater loss of life that what's already happened?"_

_"Try me."_

_Things could be worse,_ Tony reminded himself. _We could all be dead now._

For some reason, that improved his mood significantly.

-O.O-

The next time his head went dark, a day and a half later, Tony actively and consciously sought out Loki to try and chase that feeling he'd gotten off him. He still wasn't entirely certain what it was.

Loki made him a type of rich salmon pasta for lunch and played chess with him, like they were friends and this was a casual hangout.

Playing chess against Loki was _intense._ Despite his youthful appearance the god had been playing the game for longer than Tony had been alive. Fortunately, Tony was a clever guy, and could hold his own.

But if he made a single wrong move, Loki would chew him up and spit him out. Tony could sense Loki's eyes on him, calculating and colder than his easy smile.

As they played, Loki spoke in a carefully crafted manner about his life so far as an agent, leading all the way up to the All-Mother's betrayal.

"You, as a human, are better than us in that simple way," Loki admitted, still picking his words as carefully as his chess moves. "You are actually capable of changing yourselves, if necessary. Humans are so remarkably adaptable. For all my skills I still stand bound by the roots of fate."

Tony could remember people thinking he'd never change, in some way or the other. People giving up on him. His father forcing him to be someone, the way his life worked out forcing him to be another. It wasn't exactly cosmic destiny, but sure had felt like it when he was younger.

Sympathy for the devil.

 _Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste._ Gah, it fit too well. The little shit was even wearing those horns.

"Check," Tony said, moving his rook into somewhere dangerous.

Loki's face stayed perfectly still and he ceased talking. Neatly, he got himself out of danger.

"Nearly had you there, huh?" Tony teased, trying to distract Loki.

"Actually, I'm trying to figure out how to make it work for me. That's how we villains fly, looking out for number one," Loki murmured.

"Are you talking about being in check?" Tony asked.

"Or genocide, whichever happens first," Loki said lightly.

Now Tony's face was still.

"Lighten up, Stark. Either you'll die or you won't. No point agonising over your feelings and that sickening morality you tote around," Loki said.

"Morality is what makes you human."

"And you want to be human _why?_ " Loki said, moving a pawn.

"Because," Tony said. "It's better than being whatever the hell you are."

"Touché," Loki chuckled.

Right then, Tony moved his queen. "Touché to you. Checkmate."

Finally, Tony got a decent response out of Loki, as the god actually looked surprised and frowned at the board. "You actually defeated me."

Little did Loki know that Tony was _really_ good at chess.

"I propose a rematch," Loki said with that crooked smile of his.

-O.O-

They ended up playing all afternoon until Loki finally beat Tony.

Then Loki made Tony dinner. Followed by Tony leaving. It had been a good day.

On his way home, Tony realised what that feeling he'd been looking for when he went to Loki's was.

Companionship. Honest, unjudged companionship. Loki didn't judge Tony, because Loki was a thousand times worse. Loki sincerely enjoyed Tony's company and Tony was starting to enjoy his too.

He couldn't be with the Avengers without being judged; while he felt like he deserved it, it was still a miserable feeling. With everything that had happened, the Illuminati were not relaxing company. He couldn't look old time friends Pepper and Rhodey in the eye after what had happened; they were good people and he didn't feel like he was anymore.

But Loki had blood on his hands that made Tony's look like a light spatter.

Once upon a time, Loki had been an enemy. Then just a pain in his ass. Someone he was totally indifferent towards, for a very long time.

What would Tony call Loki now?

Of all things, all sickening things, he'd probably call him a friend.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Sympathy for the Devil Artwork Master Post](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2508881) by [Enk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enk/pseuds/Enk)




End file.
